FT-EU Could Freeze Georgia Accession If 'Russian Law' Enacted

The FT is reporting that the EU could freeze Georgia's accession bit to the Union if it enacts the Foreign Agents bill, also known as the 'Russia law', that opponents say will allow authorities to suppress civil society organisations, mirroring the situation in Vladimir Putin's Russia. FT: "A decision by the bloc to start accession talks is likely to be indefinitely postponed if the law comes into force, [...]. “We have been very clear . . . this is a showstopper,” said a person briefed on the discussions between Georgian and EU officials in recent days. “[The Georgian government] knows what the score is.”

• Georgia was granted full EU candidate status in December 2022, but relations between Tbilisi and Brussels have soured in recent months as the bill has progressed through the legislature. The Georgian Dream gov't, led by PM Irakli Kobakhidze and closely linked to Georgia's richest man, Bidzina Ivanishvili, has been in power since 2012.
• The gov't is facing massive protests against the legislation. As is often the case, it remains very difficult to determine at what point such anti-gov't demonstrations could reach a critical mass that would pose a risk to the continuation of the administration.
• Since the 2003 'Rose Revolution' Georgia has been seen as one of the most pro-Western nations of the former USSR, particualrly in the wake of the 2008. However, in recent months and years this trend has reversed and the country appears as far from EU and NATO membership as at any point since Eduard Shevardnadze was ousted.